Machine for cleaning large drain tile and the like



May 12, 1942. s. o. BLANC 2,282,600

MACHINE FOR CLEANINGLARGE DRAIN TILE AND"1THE.LIKE

Filed Aug. 12, 1958 5 Sheets-Shee1 1 May'lZ, 1942. s, o, BLANC MACHINE FOR 'CLEANING LARGE DRAIN TILE AND"THE LIKE Filed Aug. 12, 1958 3 Shee'z's-Sheeil 2 May 12, 1942. s.- o. BLANC Filed Aug. 12, 1938 MACHINE FOR CLEANING LARGE DRAIN TILE AND THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet' .'5

Patented May l2, 1942 f FOR. CLEANING LARGE DRAIN TILEAND THE LIKE Samuel O.`Blanc, Iles Moines, Iowa Application August 12, 1938, Serial No. 224,517

8 Claims.

for cleaning drain pipes such as installed in the drain and sewer systems of towns and cities. The drain and sewer pipes used for this purpose often consist of a series of tile sections laid end to end so that small spaces exist between the r adjacent ends of the tile through which roots of trees and othervegetation grow to such an eX- tent that a tangled mass of roots fill the tile, collecting dirt and sediment and oftentimes completely closing the same, in which case comparatively large cleaning tools and mechanism are required to accomplish the dislodging of said obstructions. The sewer and drainage systems usually include a series ofwells spaced about three hundred feet apart, having their lower ends connected with drain or sewer pipe. If one of the pipes becomes completely clogged, then oftentimes the well at the receiving end of the clogged pipe becomes lled, or practically filled,

with water, making it very inconvenient and expensive to move the water before being able to place cleaning tools in the proper position, by any of the mechanisms or methods now in common use, insofar as I am aware.

One of the objects of myinvention is to provide a power operated drain cleaner of simple and-durable construction, supported on a port'- able truck and employing a comparatively heavy snake with a cleaning tool connected to one end of the snake, with the unused end of the snake supported on a suitable reel carried by the truck, so arranged that rotation of the reel will cause the snake to be rotated and with itthe cleaning tool.

A further object of my invention is toprovide in a drain cleaner of the type above described, an improved power operated mechanism for rotating the snake as the snake is threaded into the drain pipe, and n connection therewith power operated means for moving the snake into and out of the drain pipe simultaneously with its rotation. Y

A further object of'my invention is to provide a mechanism for grippingl the snake to impart longitudinal movement to the snake, either forwardly or rearwardly, and at the same time permit the snake to rotate freely for operating the cutter, and in connection therewith means for permitting the feeding'mechanism to be oper- This invention relates to improved mechanism a reel rotatablyv mounted to support the unused I' end of the snake and to impart torsional strain to the snake on rotation of the reel, improved means for securing the unused end of the snake to the reel to prevent kinking of the snake.

A further object is to provide, in connection with a drain pipe cleaningmechanism of the type above described, improved means for guiding-the cutterend of the snake into one end of the drain pipe situated at the bottom of the drain pipe well, without removing from the well f snake, as required,

ated independently of the rotation of the snake or the snake to be rotated independently of the feeding mechanism. A

A further object of `my invention is to provide in a drain cleaning device employing a snake and water that may have accumulated therein.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved coupling means whereby sections of the snake may beaddedto or taken from the for cleaning sewer pipes of various lengths.

A further object of my invention is to provide, in connection with a drain pipe cleaning mechanism employing power mechanism for feeding a snake through one end of a clogged pipe, a cable drum and a cable for enteringthe opposite end of the drain pipe wherein the cable may be used to. assist in movement of the cutter and snake through the pipe being cleaned at the time the cutter is being operated, or at any other times, as

desirable. Y

My invention consists in the construction, ar' rangement and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in whichi Figure 1 illustrates aside elevation of my improved drain cleaning mechanism showing the manner in which the same is applied to clean a clogged pipe connecting two wells, the ground and wells being shown in section.

Figure 2 illustrates a` rear end view of the snake supporting reel and the snake guide to assist in winding the cable in the reel.

Figure 3 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a plan view of a portion of the main supportingy frame and the drum and reel operating mechanism. o

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

, line 1-1 of Figure l.

- Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view of the mechanism employed for feeding the snake 1ongitudinally, either forwardly or rearwardly, and a portion of the mechanism for controlling said feeding means, together with a portion of the reel support. Figure 9 is a detail sectional View taken on the line 9-9 of Figure 8.

Figure illustrates the worm gear mechanism for driving the feeding mechanism, a portion of the case being in section.

Figure 11.is Ia detail sectional view taken on the line I I--I I of Figure 8.

My improved device comprises a truck I0 havj mesh with a gear 5I carried by a shaft 52, as iling a frame member I I, with front wheels I 2 and rear wheels I3 for supporting the frame.Y rSupported on the frame II is a platform. I4 having carried thereon an engine I5 provided with a sprocket wheel I6a, thus providing `means for operating the mechanism hereinafter to.be described. Supported near the back end of the frame II by means of Ysuitable braces I1, is an annular frame I6 having a series of rollers I 8 for rotatably supporting the snake carrying reel 2l, said reel comprising an annular member 20 rotatably supported within the member I1 and in operative relation with the rollers I8. The back edge of thevmember supports what, I shall term an integral reel formed of parallel annular spaced plates 22 and 23,v the plates 22 and 23 being'connected by cross bars 24 against which the snake 25 rests when supported therein. `The snake 25 is constructed of stiff spring steel, and in the form of a helix, such substantially as is commonly used for the purpose of cleaning drain pipes. The inner end of the snake 25 is xed to a ring 26 rotatably supported within the rcel 2|, and of smaller diameter than the distance between two oppositely arranged bars 24 so as to permit the free end of the snake to rotate within the reel for the purpose hereinafter made clear, the end of the snake being fixed to the ring 26 by any suitable means at the point 21 so as to hold the snake against torsional movement. Y

The reel 2I is further supported by means of a series of arms 28 supported on ahead member 29 carried on a sleeve 30, as illustrated inY Figure 8, and fixed to said sleeve. rIhe sleeve 30 is rotatably mounted in bearings 3I and 32 carried by a supporting bracket 33, which in turn is carried by the frame II. Rotatably mounted within the sleeve 30 is another sleeve 34, having its forward end provided with a head 35, to which a guide arm 36 is connected, said guide 'arm 36 being provided with a series of rollers 31 arranged in pairs for receiving and guiding thepfree end of the snake from the reel 25-to the tubular member 34 and through the axis of rotationof the reel 2|. In this connection it uwill be noted that the said axis of rotation -is inclined relative to the frame II so that the free end of the snake is delivered at a point near the ground surface.

For rotating the reel 2I I have provided on the sleeve 30 a worm gear 38 supported within a gear housing 39 carried by the bracket 33 and enclosing the worm gear 40, said worm gear being mounted on a drive shaft 4I, the outer end of which is provided with a sprocketv 42. Said sprocket 42 is operatively connected with the sprocket I 6a by means of a chain 43, thus providing means for rotating the reel for imparting torsional strain to the snake 2,5. The guide arm 36 is free to rotate so as to permit` the snake to be coiled or uncoiled as it is moved longitudinally through the tubular member 34.

assenso For imparting longitudinal movement to the snake I have provided the following mechanism:

Fixed to the back end ofthe bracket 33 is af' provided with an internal gear 50 designed to lustrated in Figure 9.

Supported by the rear end of the sleeve 30 is a head 53 adapted to support an end plate 54 for covering the open end of the casing 44, and also supporting a housing 55, all of which is rotatably mounted with the sleeve 30. The housing 55 is provided with a.l pair of shafts 56 and a pair of shafts 51, one end of each of the shafts 56 being provided with a worm gear 58 (seeFig. 10). Both of the worm gears 58 are operated from a common worm gear 59 carried by the rear end of the shaft 52. The shaft 52 and the worm gears 58 are supported by a housing 60 carried by the housing 55, so that the head 53, plate 54 and the housings 55 and 60 rotate in unison and as a unit. Supported on each of the shafts 56 and 51 is a sprocket wheel 6 I, each corresponding set of sprockets 6I being provided with a chain 62, the chain 62 having inter-runs parallel with the axis of rotation of the housing 55 and with the snake 25. Each of the chains 62 is provided with a series of gripper blocks 63 having their outer edges each provided with a series of grooves 64 to fit and coact with the coils of the snake 25 in such a manner that if the two sets of chains are operated in opposite directions, then the inter-runs will run in the same direction and willcause to travel with them the snake 25,'thus providing means for pulling the snake 25 longitudinally and at the same time permitting the snake to rotate VWithin the said gripper blocks or to permit the housing 55 and the chains and gripper blocks to rotate about Athe snake. Since, however, the housing 55 and the reel 2l are fixed to the sleeve 36, both the reel 2| and said housing will rotate in unison and the housing and the snake will'rotate together at such times as torsional strain is being applied to the snake, with no longitudinal movement of the snake, thus. reducing a great amount of wear that might otherwise take place between the blocks 63 and the outer surface of the snake.

It will readily be seenthat inasmuch as the shaft 52 is mounted through the plate 54 and said plate is rotated, that the shaft 52 Vwill be carried around the axis of rotation, causing the brakedrums 45 and 46 to also be rotated inasmuch as theV pinion 5I isin vmesh with the gears 48 and 50.

Supported within the casing 44 are brake shoes 65, two for each of the drums 45 and 46, each of the brake shoes being carried by a lever 66 having one end attached to a suitable bracket 61 carried by the housing 44. The opposite end of each of the levers 6 6 is provided with a link 68 connected with an voperating lever 69.` One link of one of the levers 66 of each corresponding set of levers is connected tothe lever 69 at a point below the pivot center 1.0 of said lever,

Vthe link andthe other -corresponding lever being be set and moving the lever69 -inone direction andthe brakes of the otherl drumreleased, or thebrakes of the drum 46 maybe set-by moving thejl'ever 69 in the` opposite direction. Thus means is provided for stopping the rotation of either one of the drums 45 or 46, and when rotation of said drum is stopped, then it will readily be vseen thatrotation will be imparted to the pinion l, causing the shaft 55 to be rotated and with it the sprocket Wheels 6l, causing the snake 25' to be moved longitudinally in one direction. The application of the brakes to the other `drum will, in a like manner, cause the sprocket Wheels 56 to be rotated in the opposite direction and the snake 25 fed longitudinally in the opposite direction. Thus means is provided for moving the snake longitudinally through Athe tubular members 30 and 34 in either direction, or permitting the snake to be supported against longitudinal movement.

The forward end of the housing 55 is provided With a bearing element 1I adapted to be rotatably mounted in a bearing 'l2 carried by the rear end of the frame l I.

I have found that in actual practice in using the internal type of reel such as illustrated in my drawings, that difficulty has been encountered when applying rotation to the reel for the purpose of rotating the snake. It often happens that on account of the friction between the sleeve 34 and its bearings that the rotation of the arm 36 is somewhat retarded so that the snake does not always feed itself into the drum in a compact manner but has a tendency to produce coils of smaller convolution than the drum. In hand operated machines this difficulty is overcome by hand manipulation by rotating the reel and one thing and another to permit the coils to place themselves. 26 to the inner end of the snake that this difa iiculty automatically is removed. It will readily be understood that the snake is constructed of comparatively stiff material and that the snake has a tendency to straighten out when in the reel. Inasmuch as the axis of rotation of the reel is nearer the horizontal than the vertical, the cable in the top side of the reel has a tendency to sag down due to gravity. This permits a certain amount of movement'of the snake within the reel so that the free end of the cable and the ring will rotate suiciently to allow the detracted coils to expand and set themselves into the portion of the reel. The guide 36 is also a very important element of this device inasmuch as the guide assists in preventing any kinking of the snake as it is fed from the reel to the tubular member 34, which otherwise would take place when excessive torsional strains are applied to the snake. Torsional strain is one of the things that assists in forming the smaller convolutions above referred to.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a device of the class described, the combination of a frame, a reel rotatably mounted therein, mechanically operated means for positively rotating said reel, a snake carried by said reel, means for guiding the free end of said snake to the axis of rotation of said reel, feeding elements rotatably engaging said snake for moving the snake longitudinally as the reel is rotated, the guiding means and said snake being rotatable relative to the feeding means and said reel as the snake is coiled Within the reel.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a frame, a reel rotatably mounted I have found by adding the ring therein, mechanically/'operated means for'rotat-v ing l'said' reel, a snake carried by said reeljja feeding device forl moving the snakelongitudi-v nally comprising a lpair of endless chains, a series of gripper blockscarried by said chains having theirv outer ends shaped to engage and fit thek contour of the opposite sides of the coils of said snake, means for reversing the movement of said chains, means to constrain theA `reel and feeding device to rotatein unison, and'means for guiding said snake from said reel -to and through the axis of rotation of said reel and said feeding device, said guiding means being mounted to rotate either with, or relative to said reel.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a frame, a reel rotatably supported therein, mechanically operated means for operating said reel, a snake carried by said reel, means for guiding the free end of said snake to a point in alinement with the axis of rotation of said reel, means for feeding said snake longitudinally comprising a head mounted to rotate about said snake, sprocket chains supported within said head, gripper blocks carried by said chains having their outer ends grooved to lit the contour of the coils of said snake and to permit relative rotation between said blocks and snake, and means for supporting and rotating said chains to move said snake longitudinally. Y

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of a frame, an internal reel rotatably mounted therein, a snake adapted to be coiled within said reel and to have torsional strain applied thereto by rotation of said reel, means for frictionally attaching one end of said snake to said reel, comprising an element mounted Within said reel to rotate substantially co-axially with the reel and frictionally cooperate therein, and means for fixing one end of said snake to said element.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of a frame, an internal reel rotatably mounted therein, a snake adapted to be coiled within said reel and to have torsional strain applied thereto by rotation of said reel, means for frictionally adhering one end of saidsnake to said reel, comprising a ring loosely mounted within said reel and substantially coaxial with the coils of said snake supported therein, and means for Xing one end of said snake to said ring.

6. In a device of the class described, the lcombination of a frame, a reel rotatably mounted therein, a snake formed of helically Wound spring wire, means for feeding the snake longitudinally as it is coiled or uncoiled, to and from said reel, said means including a pair of oppositely travelling chains, gripper blocks carried by said chain adapted to engage the said snake, the outer edges of said blocks being provided with grooves to lit the contour of the coils of said snake to form teeth by means of which the snake may be moved longitudinally as the chains are rotated, and at the same time permit the snake to simultaneously rotate about its longitudinal axes and between said grippers.

7. In a device of the class described, thecom-L plied thereto by rotation of said reel, means for rotating said reel, means for guiding the free end of said snake to the axis of rotation of said reel, feeding elements rotatably engaging said snake for moving it longitudinally as the reel is rotated, and means mounting the guiding means torotate about the longitudinal axis of said snake and relative to said reel and feeding elements, wherebythe snake may be rotated Y While rotating about its longitudinal axis, coniprising a pair of oppositely travelling chains,

4gripper blocks carried by said chains adapted to engage said shaft, the outer edges of said blocks being provided Vwith grooves to" t-the contour of said helical formation to form teeth by means of which the shaft may be moved longitudinally as the chains are operated, and at the same time permit the shaft to be simultaneously rotated.

SAMUEL O. BLANC. 

